


I like you a Latte (and more Witt-Y puns)

by CoachMegleg



Series: Cryptage Week: Drabbles [4]
Category: Apex Legends (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Awkward Flirting, Bad Puns, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Pre-Relationship, mila's in this AU bc I love her
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26763901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CoachMegleg/pseuds/CoachMegleg
Summary: It'd been almost two months since Mila had first brought him to Witt-Y Brews. The small coffee shop nestled at the corner of a busy street had never caught Tae Joon's eye before, since he normally only passed the shop as he ran to campus for class. But one day, Mila had dragged him inside insisting they had the best tea and coffee in town.While the drinks might be good, Tae Joon found himself coming back for other reasons.---Elliot Witt owns the coffee shop down the block and Tae Joon Park will deny to his dying day that he has a crush on the cute barista. Maybe this little crush of his isn't as one-sided as he thought.Cryptage Week Day 4- AU
Relationships: Crypto | Park Tae Joon/Mirage | Elliott Witt
Series: Cryptage Week: Drabbles [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1942861
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33





	I like you a Latte (and more Witt-Y puns)

**Author's Note:**

> so it was either a coffee shop or musical theater AU but coffee shop won on the twitter poll I did so here we are
> 
> sorry if this one feels a bit rushed or there's spelling/grammar errors, kind of feeling a little burned out atm but I'm hoping to complete all the prompts this week! at least I've broken my streak of only posting fics once a month lol

“We have coffee at home, Mila.”

“Oh, c'mon! You know the stuff we make sucks anyway. They have really good pastries too. Pleeeease? I promise it'll be worth it!”

This was just another one of her schemes to get him out of the house, wasn't it? Tae Joon couldn't help but sigh at the insistent tugging at his arm, knowing he was about to get no work done until she got her way. Even he knew his excuses not to go were weak at best- she was right when it came to the quality of the coffee at home. It wasn't the best, mostly discounted bags of coffee he found at the grocery store that were just on the wrong side of stale. The coffee shop wasn't even that far anyway.

It'd been almost two months since Mila had first brought him to Witt-Y Brews. The small coffee shop nestled at the corner of a busy street had never caught Tae Joon's eye before, since he normally only passed the shop as he ran to campus for class. But one day, Mila had dragged him inside insisting they had the best tea and coffee in town.

While the drinks might be good, Tae Joon found himself coming back for other reasons.

“Well, if it isn't my two favorite customers!”

Said reason was currently standing behind the counter, wearing that signature bright mustard yellow apron, grinning ear-to-ear the moment Mila and Tae Joon stepped into the relatively empty coffee shop. Tae Joon offered a small wave while his sister hurried to the counter, dragging him along by the hand. Maybe this was a bad idea- he knew how much of a mess he looked, and Elliot (frustratingly) looked as good as always.

“What brings you two in?” Elliot asked, leaning a bit over the counter to grin at the two of them, and Tae Joon would deny to his dying day that his heart skipped a beat at the sight.

How could one man be so _gorgeous_? It was hardly fair.

Ignoring the smirk on Mila's face as Tae Joon tried to gather his words, he blurted out, “Coffee.”

The awkward admission made Elliot _giggle-snort_ , which was probably the best sound Tae Joon had ever heard.

“Coffee- at 4pm? What, you got an all nighter planned or something, TJ?”

Tae Joon's groan in response made both Mila and Elliot laugh. He hated that nickname, his sister used it to annoy him all the time- of course she'd tell Elliot about it. Maybe she'd realized his...not-so-subtle crush on the cute barista and was doing this to torment and embarrass him. Knowing her, she absolutely would do that.

“You know how T is,” Mila grinned, elbowing her brother in the side, “always working. The most excitement he gets in a day is coming to visit you.”

“ _Mila-”_ Tae Joon hissed under his breath, cheeks flaring pink as he tried (and failed) to push her out of the way. He'd told her that in private! One regretful night, alcohol had loosened his lips and with slurred words, he...might have mentioned that visiting the sweet, funny barista was the highlight of his days. Between mounting college coursework and the stress of part-time work, seeing Elliot's face was a ray of hope he didn't realize he always looked forward too.

Elliot wasn't supposed to know that- but Mila just had to ruin it.

As he valiantly tried to push her away no matter how hard she was laughing, he didn't notice the soft look on Elliot's face, or the way his hands nervously fidgeted together. He didn't notice just how bright his smile was, or the soft pink flush against his cheeks.

“H-hey, don't tease him too much, okay? You're gonna scare him off at this rate!” Elliot pipped up, waving his hand to break the two of them up. You wouldn't be able to wipe the wide smirk of Mila's face even if you tried- and Tae Joon tried. He pulled away from his sister, huffing under his breath as she continued to softly snicker to herself.

“Sooo...uh-” Elliot broke the tension lingering between the two, offering Tae Joon a smile (thank God he didn't seem too put off by that embarrassing admission- maybe he could still keep coming to the quaint little shop), “I'm assuming you're getting your usual?”

“Yes please” Tae Joon muttered, wanting nothing more than to run out of the coffee shop. Sure, Elliot didn't look put off by what Mila said, but maybe he was just being polite. He was paid to do that, to appease annoying customers who probably fawned over him all day long. He'd seen the flock of college girls who'd come in, giggling and laughing and batting their eyes at him as he teased and winked and flirted back. Not that it wasn't warranted...Elliot was charming and sweet and funny with a hint of awkwardness that made him all the more endearing. He didn't need to deal with someone like Tae Joon secretly mooning for him.

Elliot rang up their usual orders, offering the two of them one last smile before hurrying off to the espresso machine to get to work. Mila, all the while, kept wiggling her brow at Tae Joon, elbowing his side no matter how much he swatted at her. It was pointless to get his hopes up.

It took no time at all for their drinks to be made, and Elliot came back grinning as he pushed their drinks across the counter to them. “One medium iced chai for the lovely lady, and a large hot coffee with more espresso shots than is probably healthy for the gentleman!” Elliot winked at him, only causing Tae Joon's cheeks to flush more.

“Thanks Elli!” Mila cheered, snatching hers and Tae Joon's drink off the counter. As she headed to the door, Tae Joon hesitated a moment before offering Elliot a small awkward wave and smile. Hopefully the other man would forget about this whole thing next time he came in. Elliot returned the gesture, his smile just as bright as normal, but there was...something off about it. Something he couldn't quite place. Was it nervousness?

Tae Joon turned, hurrying to catch up with his sister as she stood by the door. She was squinting down at his cup, looking at something he couldn't quite make out.

“Tae-”

“What?”

She shoved his cup into his open hands. “Check your cup.”

Tae Joon wanted to scowl at her, already embarrassed enough that he'd made a fool of himself in front of Elliot. Cursing under his breath, he spun the cup in his hand to notice that, in place of where Elliot usually scrawled his name, there was a message that made him stop dead in his tracks half-way out the cafe door.

In slightly shaky yet all too familiar handwriting were the words:

_I’ve Bean thinking about you a Latte- Text me? :) -E_

_XXX-XXXX_

_Oh_.

Tae Joon turned, with flushed cheeks and wide eyes, to stare at Elliot, who was nervously grinning back at him. The fidgety barista jerked his hand up to wave, knocking over a stack of cups with a startled yelp. He heard the other man curse, quickly scrambling behind the counter to pick everything up. Seeing him just as flustered and nervous as he was...it made Tae Joon's chest tighten.

“Elliot,” he called, watching the man's head pop up from behind the counter, messy curls hanging in his face.

“Uh- ye-yeah?”

Feeling bolder than he ever had before, Tae Joon raised the cup of coffee and smiled, “I'll...I'll text you later.”

Who would've known that'd make Elliot's face light up, shooting warmth through Tae Joon's chest. He wanted to keep seeing that smile. Preferably without the barrier of the coffee shop counter between them.

“Yeah? I-I uh- I get off in a few hours you can totally text me then! O-Or whenever you're free!”

With another awkward wave, Tae Joon stumbled as Mila tugged him out of the doorway, not even realizing he'd been blocking the way inside. They made their way back down the street to their apartment, the smile never leaving Tae Joon's face.

“I told you it'd be worth it!”

Tae Joon didn't even respond to Mila's teasing, waving her hand off as she poked him in the shoulder incessantly. She was right, as much as he hated to admit it- she'll be talking about this for weeks, how she somehow had a hand in getting him the cute barista's number.

But that didn't matter now.

He had an important text to send. And with it, hopefully the promise of something more.

Who knew black coffee could taste so sweet?

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading my work! :D I really appreciate it and to everyone who's left nice messages on my earlier prompts I would die for you <3 I'm @CoachMegleg over on Twitter and check out #CryptageWeek for more art and fics


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